Dealership Mistakes To Avoid When Buying A Car

Comments (0) Automobiles, Lifestyle

car dealership

A new car, even a used one, is likely to be one of the biggest investments you’re going to make in your life. To that end, you want to make sure that you know precisely what you’re paying for. For those unused to the environment, a car dealership can put more pressure on you than you expect. Customers get overwhelmed into buying what they don’t necessarily want or need all the time. As such, we’re going to look at how you can ensure that you’re making the right decisions by avoiding the mistakes below.

Buying Extras You Don’t Need

By far one of the biggest mistakes is letting the dealer convince you to tack on all kinds of extras that you don’t necessarily need but are certainly going to cost you more. Some of the most common car dealer extras include things like an extended warranty, payment protection insurance, and extra parts like alloys and protective coats (which can often be got for less elsewhere).

Not Researching Your Finance Options

Most dealers offer financing agreements right there on the spot. However, often, you can get a better deal by looking at other providers as well. In fact, the car industry has recently been hit with a slew of car finance claims based on misselling a finance agreement to customers who didn’t realise that they weren’t fixed costs. Before visiting the dealership, check auto loan rates from banks, credit unions, or online lenders.

Skipping The Test Drive

How the car performs and handles is one of the most important things to pay attention to when buying a car. However, there are plenty of people who never get to find out because, in their haste, they totally skip the test drive. Even new cars can have issues, but you may never be aware of them until it’s time to pay to fix them, because you didn’t test drive it before buying it.

Not Calculating The Cost Of Ownership

The price tag on the car certainly is important, and working out your monthly payments to finance it is vital. However, you should also make sure that you’re calculating things like insurance costs, fuel, maintenance, and depreciation to get a true idea of how affordable or not a car is. There are cost-of-ownership calculators you can find online that can give you a better estimate of how much you’re really likely to be paying for your vehicle.

Not Negotiating

If you accept the initial price offered at a dealership, then you might be making a big mistake. This can often include markups and add-ons that you could negotiate. Most dealers do expect customers to come at them with a counteroffer, so don’t be one of the few who is suckered into paying full price. Research the usual price of the car you’re buying so you have a position to negotiate from.

When you’re visiting a dealership, keep a cool head and make sure that you’re fully aware of what you’re looking for and what your budget is. Create some hard and fast rules for yourself to stick to and you can avoid paying too much for stuff you don’t need.

We’re very proud to bring you this feature in association with ALA Insurance and PCP-Claimback. For more features, please pay a visit to our Lifestyle Page.

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